AST101H5F COURSE SYLLABUS

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AST101H5F COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Description

"Man must rise above the Earth – to the top of the atmosphere and beyond – for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives."

 — Socrates (470-399 BC) 

Astronomy, as the oldest field of science, tries to understand the mysteries of the objects in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the planets, all the smaller objects, and the universe itself. In this course, we set out on a journey to explore the wonders and elegance of our Solar System. Following the footsteps of great astronomers in the past, we will learn how the basic physical laws govern the heavenly objects, and how we are using the ever-accumulating knowledge to gain more insight into the world. We live in a beautiful universe on a gorgeous planet. Understanding how it became the way it is and how the parts interact with each other enriches and deepens our appreciation for the artistry around us.

Textbooks and Other Materials

Recommended textbooks:

· Openstax Astronomy:  https://openstax.org/details/books/astronomy 

· Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy, 9th Edition, Arny and Schneider, McGraw Hill, ISBN 978-1-260-56589-84

Course Goals (as a student, you can expect to learn through the lectures, assignments, and mini-projects):

· The notable patterns in the night sky

· The cycles of day/night and seasons

· The Moon, the planets, the Sun, and everything in our planetary neighborhood

· The laws that govern the motion of the astronomical objects

· The laws that allow human to study the astronomical objects

· Telescopes and humanity’s quest towards the truth of the universe

Teaching Goals (What I aim to deliver to you):

· A deeper comprehension of the physical laws governing the universe

· An upgraded world view that considers the vastness of the universe compared to the meagerness of human beings

· A sense of respect for the achievements of human science and technology

· A sense of mission for the efforts of human exploration the universe

Projected course schedule: 

(Note: the actual schedule may vary according to course progress.)

(Chapter numbers are based on Openstax Astronomy)

Marking Scheme

Generative AI Tools in AST101

The use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools is permitted in this course for the purposes of research and studying, and only if the use of these tools is disclosed if used for an assignment. For example, here are use cases that are permitted:

1. Using AI to help you identify further research tools. Some generative AI tools can be helpful in identifying human-authored sources for further research, but beware the tendency to "hallucinate" sources that don't actually exist.

2. Using AI to generate study questions for the midterm and final exams. Feel free to request study questions from ChatGPT! This can be a very useful way to determine how well you understand a course concept and practice for the course exams. Note that the questions generated by AI tools may not always reflect the precise level of knowledge needed for the exams, but carefully wording your request can help with obtaining useful study questions.

3. Using AI to help you understand complicated topics. ChatGPT and similar tools can be very helpful in summarizing and simplifying complicated topics. However, please be aware that AI tools sometimes get things (very convincingly) wrong! Ensure that you corroborate with other sources of information like the textbook or online articles.

Use cases that are prohibited (and that may consitute an academic offense):

1. Submitting text that was partially or completely written by an AI. Every word that you submit for this course must be written by you, and only by you, unless it is enclosed in quotation marks and attributed to the original author. Representation of AI-generated text as your own writing is considered plagiarism, and will be prosecuted as an academic offense.

2. Citing AI as a primary or only research source. For research-based assignments like the scientist spotlight, you should always find human-authored sources as your primary references. AI tools should be cited as secondary sources in addition to the primary sources, if you used AI to find your primary references.

Procedures and Rules

Missed Term Work and Tests, Late Penalties, Absence Declarations, and Petitions for Special Consideration

Penalties for all term work missed or otherwise submitted late is as described in the text that follows unless valid and documented reasons exist for special consideration. Students may submit a petition for special consideration within one week of the due date of the missed item of term work or date of the missed test.

The ACORN absence declaration system may be used once per term, to declare an absence of up to seven consecutive calendar days (including days both before and after the date of submission), without requiring medical or other documentation. Provide the Course Instructor with a confirmation of this declaration (e.g. a screenshot) in your petition for special consideration, which contains your name, student number, absence dates, and confirmation number. For more information on the ACORN absence declaration process, and to access the form, see here.

In all other cases (beyond the above-described once-per-term declaration), documentation is required. In all cases, petitions for special consideration should be based on illness or other extenuating circumstances, which are beyond one's reasonable control. Note that reasons such as vacations, family events, wedding attendance, lack of preparation, technology failure, extra-curricular commitments, and academic work in other courses are not considered to constitute extenuating circumstances beyond a student's reasonable control. Absences for reasons of illness should be documented using the U of T Verification of Student Illness or Injury form; please complete this form, have it signed by the appropriate professional (e.g. a medical doctor), and send a copy to the course instructor. If not for reasons of illness, your petition for special consideration must contain supporting documentation, which can include a U of T Verification of Extenuating Circumstances form, automobile collision or police reports, a death certificate, and supporting documentation from employers, lawyers and other professional persons. Supporting documents can be submitted electronically as an attachment in your e-mail to the Course Instructor. These attachments can include screenshots, photographs, and/or scans of physical documents. Please ensure the electronic documents are legible and also ensure that you retain the original copies of all documents submitted in case you are asked to present them later. The supporting documentation included in your petition must specify the exact period that you were unable to complete your term work or term test for it to be considered. The Course Instructor will inform the student by e-mail (as per the Communications Policy herein) whether special consideration is granted following due diligence on the documentation provided. Note that false statements and/or documentation will be treated as academic offences and handled accordingly.

If a student misses an online quiz, a mark of zero (0%) will be assigned unless a petition for special consideration is made and granted by the Course Instructor. In the case that special consideration is granted, the mark value of the missed quiz will be re-assigned to an upcoming assignment that the instructor will confirm with the student.

The penalty for late submission of assignments (i.e., reports of the mini-projects) is a 20% deduction in the final mark per day that the work is late. A late penalty may be waived provided that a petition for special consideration is made and granted as described above.

Re-evaluation Requests

Requests for re-evaluation of an article of term work (e.g. test, assignment, laboratory report, etc.) must be made in writing within 1 month of the return of the article of term work and include a brief explanation as to why the request is being made. Term work submissions can be written in pencil; however, re-marking of term work written in pencil is not permitted. Similarly, articles of term work on which correction media has been used will be exempt from re-evaluation. Re-evaluation requests must be made to the same person that did the initial grading of the article of term work (normally, this is a Teaching Assistant). Note that the final mark assigned to a re-evaluated article of term-work may go up or down based on the outcomes of re-evaluation (in whole or in part, at the discretion of the marker). Disputes in grading subsequent to re-evaluation by the original marker may be brought forward to the Course Instructor for final adjudication. You, as a UTM student, have the right to appeal a mark beyond the Course Instructor only if the term work in question is worth at least 20% of the course mark.